SPORTS SECTION E
MONDAY, JULY 27, 2026
Jonquel Jones wins WNBA All-Star MVP Dedicates honour to her deceased aunt !"#!$%&'#(')!!( *+,-.#(/0123#%4,201 !"#$!!"% #&'!$()*)+',-()# JONQUEL Jones came off the bench and played with a heavy heart that led to her adding the most valuable player of the 2026 Women's National Basketball Association's All-Star game to her historic collection of awards from the league. The 32-year-old Grand Bahamian native playing for the 2024 WNBA champions New York Liberty secured the MVP hardware after helping Team Spoon pull off an impressive 129-122 victory over Team Coop at the United Center in Chicago on Saturday night. The 6-foot, 6-inch centre produced 22 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists in only 22 minutes off the bench. She shot 8-of-17 from the field, made four 3-pointers and finished with a plus-nine rating. As the league celebrated its 30th anniversary, bringing the past, the present and the future together, Jones emerged as the fourth player in WNBA history to win all three MVP awards at least once, joining Lisa Leslie, Maya Moore and Candace Parker. But she placed herself in a class of her own when she added this year's AllStar MVP title, the 2024
SEE MVP, Page 14
Team Bahamas athletes ‘hoping to make their presence felt’ at Comm. Games !"#!$%&'#(')!!( *+,-.#(/0123#%4,201 !"#$!!"%#&'!$()*)+',-()#
“My aunt passed away not too long ago and today is actually her memorial. I got permission from my family to be here and to celebrate this moment. This one is for my auntie.” — Jonquel Jones finals MVP and the 2021 WNBA MVP to the 2023 Commissioner's Cup MVP, the Sixth Woman of the Year in 2018 and the Most Improved Player in 2017. Jones, coming off her second Commissioner's Cup title this year to go along with her first in 2023, was appearing in her sixth WNBA All-Star game, including 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2024. This one, however, was extra special and after the second quarter, Jones said she got in the groove and was eager to dedicate it to her deceased aunt Marilyn. "My aunt passed away not too long ago and today is actually her memorial," Jones said. "I got permission from my family to be here and
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THE 2026 Commonwealth Games is underway in Glasgow, Scotland, and the 20-member team representing The Bahamas is hoping to make their presence felt. So far, swimming and boxing have engaged in competition over the first weekend with the other two sports - track and field and judo - in action starting this week. Swimming at the Tollcross International Swimming Centre Day three on Sunday Two Bahamians competed in the men's 50m freestyle with Lamar Taylor getting the better performance with third place in the eighth of nine heats in 22.20, while Marvin Johnson was fifth in heat seven in 23.02. They both advanced to the semifinals where Johnson placed fifth in the last of the two heats in 22.30 and Johnson was eighth in the first one in 22.86. Johnson also competed in the men's 100m butterfly with Emmanuel Gadson. In the third of five heats, Johnson was sixth in 55.15, while Gadson finished as the winner of his heat for the second time at the games in the first heat in 56.55. Joanna Evans, making her return to international
SEE GAMES, Page 13
CAC Games: Xavion Johnson suffers loss in the quarterfinals !"#!$%&'#(')!!( *+,-.#(/0123#%4,201 !"#$!!"%#&'!$()*)+',-()# WITH the Central American and Caribbean Games underway in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, The Bahamas is being represented by a 40-member team in 10 different sporting disciplines. Action has already begun in three of the latter with the remaining seven starting to compete this week. Judo Xavion Johnson suffered a loss to Ulises Mendez of Mexico by Ippon in the 43rd second of the quarterfinals of the men's -73 kilogram class yesterday at the Judo
XAVION JOHNSON Pavilion. Ippon is the highest score a fighter can get and is "one full point," which ends the match right
away, similar to a knockout in a boxing match. The 20-year-old Johnson, one of two Bahamians competing in judo, came back in the repechage in his second match and lost again by Ippon in the 41 seconds to Ferney Ruiz of Colombia. Karra Hanna, the other representative for Team Bahamas, will begin competition in the women's +78 kg class today. Following their appearances at the games, both Johnson and Hanna will head to Glasgow, Scotland, where they will join the rest of Team Bahamas in competition at the
SEE CAC, Page 13
BAAA taking diverse 18-member team to the World Under-20 Championships !"#!$%&'#(')!!( *+,-.#(/0123#%4,201 !"#$!!"%#&'!$()*)+',-()# THE Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations will be taking a diverse 18-member team to compete at the World Under-20 Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon. The championships will take place at the historic Hayward Field at the University of Oregon from August 5-9 and, according to head coach Tito Moss, The Bahamas will be represented by a
well-balanced and diverse team. Named to the team are the following: Females Kei-Mahri Hanna - 400mh; Saige Demeritte - 200m; Alexis Roberts - 400m; Taysha Stubbs - Javelin and Keyezra Thomas - 400m. Males - Zion Davis - 400m; Javano Bridgewater - 400m; Eagan Neely - 200m; Jahcario Wilson - 110mh; Ishmael Rolle 100m; Justin Hanna - High Jump; Kenny Moxey Jr. Decathlon; Carlin Archer - Long Jump; Tieano Ferguson - 400mh; Zion Shepherd
- 4 x 400m; Sonycko Ilet - 4 × 400m; Jonathan Higgs - 4 × 400m and Terrin Beckles 4 x 100m. Head of the delegation is BAAA president Drumeco Archer. The team manager is Laketah Charlton, assisted by Emmitt Higgins from Grand Bahama. Moss, who will be assisted by Daron Lightbourne, James Rolle and Caudell McNabb from Grand Bahama, said there are a lot of high expectations for the team. "On the men's side, led by our new junior
SEE BAAA, Page 14